ANKARA (AP) — Pope Leo XIV arrived in Turkey on Thursday on his first foreign trip, fulfilling Pope Francis’ plans to mark an important Christian anniversary and bring a message of peace to the region at a crucial time in efforts to end the war in Ukraine and ease Mideast tensions.

Leo was welcomed on the tarmac of Ankara's Esenboga Airport by a military guard of honor. Strolling along a turquoise carpet, he shook hands with Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, other officials and senior church figures from Turkey.

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